RENTING RAKES UP THE MOOLAH
For now, sports enthusiasts in the country may be free from the clutches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL). But when the seasons were in full swing, apart from the cricket and football fans, a new section of the society enjoyed the season the most – the furniture renting startups in India! While mostly large-scale furniture renting was limited to B2B customers, with MNCs and corporate houses forming the wide customer base, this cricket season opened doors to a new range of customers.
From college students to working professionals and even restaurateurs, the seasonal demand for furniture was like never before. Co-founder of RentSher, Harsh Dhand, says, “On most days during the matches we ran out of furniture and even after shipping furniture from other warehouses we could not meet the demand because it was so high. With most restaurants announcing special campaigns for the IPL series, we had a demand for more than 20 projector screens per day. The demand was no less on our website too and we were prebooked weeks before.”
On noticing such high demand and increasing consumer requests, the Bengaluru-based startup has even introduced packages. “A projector with speakers and barbecue equipment or camping tents with barbecue are some of the popular packages. Customers are more aware now and they know which equipment compliments well with one another. To keep up with the demand, we have to introduce such packages,” Dhand says.
BEATING THE HEAT WITH HOME APPLIANCES
While RentSher sees high demand during the sports season, Rentickle, another online lifestyle rental platform, has seen increasing demand for home appliances like refrigerators, air-conditioners and other products in the wake of summer. “This is also the season for many families to relocate before a new academic year starts in schools and most prefer to just rent, instead of investing money on new appliances and furniture. As summer peaks in many cities, the demand for seasonal appliances like refrigerator and air-coolers is also high,” the startup says.
RENTING – THE BUZZ WORD
With more millennials choosing to live in different cities, seasonal or not, furniture rentals will only boom and the startups know that well. In fact, many startups have mushroomed in the last few years and the trend is here to stay, opines Dhand. “Renting is the hottest buzz word which is why we are seeing so many furniture rental startups enter the market. There are very few players who provide rentals for shorter duration like a day or even a week, and the demand for shorter rentals is extremely high. In future, more players may enter this category too as customers want instant gratification,” he adds.
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